


The Advantages of Gift Giving

by predilection



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Magnus Bane Deserves Nice Things, Magnus Bane's Omamori Charm, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-26
Updated: 2017-09-26
Packaged: 2019-01-05 14:18:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12191556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/predilection/pseuds/predilection
Summary: Alec learns that Magnus isn't used to receiving gifts. Naturally, he decides to do something about this.





	The Advantages of Gift Giving

**Author's Note:**

> Remember in season two when Magnus revealed that no one gave him gifts? Well, it made me decide that Alec should totally spearhead Operation Magnus Bane Deserves All The Gifts.

The first time Alec finds it, he's putting away clothing that was hastily discarded on the bedroom floor the night before. It drops out of one of Magnus' jacket pockets and lands on the carpet.

It's the omamori for luck and protection Alec bought in Japan and gave to Magnus when they first started dating. It makes Alec smile to see it at the same time it surprises him that Magnus was carrying it with him. He leaves it on top of Magnus' dresser and doesn't think much else of it.

Until he finds it again. This time after Magnus has exhausted himself banishing a demon. As Alec helps Magnus out of his clothes and into bed, he finds the omamori in the breast pocket of Magnus' silk shirt.

"Do you always carry this around?" he asks Magnus, half-teasing, holding it up between them.

Though he has to be moments from fallings asleep, Magnus smiles at him from where he's lying in bed, his eyes half-lidded. "It's the only genuine gift anyone's given me in decades. And... it came from you."

Alec thinks that's sweet until Magnus' words really register. "Wait. Decades?"

Magnus hums in agreement, but in the span of a few more heartbeats, his eyes close and his expression relaxes as he drifts off to sleep.

Alec sits down on the edge of the bed. He looks at the charm in his hand with new appreciation as he runs his other hand through Magnus' hair.

*

Alec finds things that make him think of Magnus all the time but he doesn't think to buy them. He's not used to giving gifts, and given Magnus' age and his ability to portal wherever he likes, it's hard to come up with things Magnus might need. But after what Magnus said about the omamori, which is clearly precious to him, Alec starts thinking instead about things Magnus might want.

A few days later, when Izzy drags him out to a café for their weekly lunch date, he hesitates by a display case filled with baked goods. There's a chocolate éclair inside that has a thin swirl of teal icing on top. It reminds Alec not only of a shirt Magnus owns, but of a bakery Magnus took him to in France.

He buys it and the woman behind the counter packages it for him in a small and colorful cardboard box.

"Is that for Magnus?" Izzy asks when he returns to their table with their lunches and the box. He nods and she peeks inside of it. "How sweet!" she coos, causing Alec to roll his eyes. 

"What's this?" Magnus asks when he sees the little box on his kitchen counter later that same day.

Alec leans back against the sink. "I got you something from the café Izzy and I had lunch at."

Magnus' eyebrows raise, and clearly curious, he opens the box. "An éclair?"

"Yeah. I thought you'd like it."

Alec is paying attention so he notices the way Magnus' eyes widen in surprise before his expression softens. He also notices that Magnus' answering smile has more gravity to it than a simple baked good should warrant. 

"I do. Thank you, Alexander," Magnus says, walking over to where Alec is standing and kissing him.

*

It's easy to start buying things for Magnus after that. 

When Clary takes him to a crafts market to buy Jace a birthday present, he finds a silver ring with a cat's hissing face on it and buys it immediately. Then he spends a month tracking down an eighteenth century book of poetry that Magnus mentioned in passing that he used to love. He also starts giving Magnus roses. He buys him red roses, and also ones dyed blue and purple.

They're just little things, but no matter how small, Magnus receives them reverently like they're special simply because Alec gave them to him. Even after months of Alec getting him gifts, he always smiles like he's pleasantly surprised -- like he still doesn't think he's the kind of person who receives nice things.

As much as Alec wants to track down and harm every being that made Magnus feel like he deserves anything less than these simple kindnesses, what he wants more is for Magnus to understand how much he truly is deserving of them. So he redoubles his efforts.

"Just a heads up: for the next month, I'm going to give you a gift every day," Alec tells him one night. They're curled up on the couch together, Magnus re-reading the book of poetry Alec found him while he reviews incident reports on his tablet.

"You don't have to do that," Magnus replies. "You give me so much already, and you don't owe me anything." His tone is easy and light because he still doesn't get it.

Alec puts his tablet down on the cushion next to him and turns so he can he look Magnus in the eye, hoping to convey how serious he is. "This has nothing to do with owing. This is about _wanting_." 

Magnus' mouth opens just enough for Alec to know that he's taken him off-guard. He studies Alec's face for a long moment before nodding, his expression more sober than it was before. "Okay," Magnus says and it warms Alec's heart that he's finally starting to understand.

*

The thing is, it's easy to find things for Magnus. He has such a wide array of interests and such a clear aesthetic sense that Alec often knows instantly if what he's looking at is something Magnus would like.

He picks up little things -- a set of measuring spoons with stars carved in the handles, a small glass figurine of a raven, seeds for a flower that's petals have healing properties -- whenever he happens upon them and two weeks later, he has enough items for his whole planned month of gifts.

Magnus receives them all happily and he gives back in his own ways. He bakes for Alec using the measuring spoons, and he gives Alec a necklace with a silver pendant that has been spelled to offer protection. 

As always, they continue to give to each other in numerous non-material ways as well, but since Alec started giving material gifts, he's found that they've taken on a significance they never had before.

When the month ends, Alec keeps giving Magnus small things. Not every day, but often. He still buys flowers, desserts and other small items.

He keeps it up for a year, and then, even with the Downworld and the Clave in disarray, for another. He does it until Magnus finally stops looking surprised to receive a gift and continues even after that.

*

"I need your help, Izzy."

They're eating lunch at that same café she took him to over two years before, the one with the bakery section where he bought Magnus the first of many desserts.

"What could you possibly need my help with, big brother?" she teases.

He thinks about all the things he and Magnus have been through, from his engagement to Lydia to the latest battle they fought together. He remembers all the times Magnus has let him share parts of himself he thought he never would be able to, and of how Magnus' love for him is so incredible that he's continuously awed by it. He thinks about how beautiful Magnus is, inside and out.

And he thinks that there's no way he could put into words how much Magnus means to him -- how much he loves him.

His hands are sweaty so he rubs them on the thighs of his pants before he tells Izzy, "I'm going to ask Magnus to marry me."

Izzy's playful smirk melts into a bright, honest smile. "Oh, Alec! This is so exciting! When?"

"That's what I need your help with." 

She agrees to help him pick out a ring and he tells her what he's planning. He also tells her why he wants to do what he's planning -- how acclimatizing Magnus to getting gifts has given him the perfect opportunity to surprise him. 

"Tell me this is a good idea," he says, nervous even though he knows he doesn't have any reason to be.

Izzy looks like she might cry in a good way and when she laughs, the sound is joyous. "This is one of the best ideas you've ever had." Alec feels himself relax and Izzy says, "Now, let's talk rings."

*

Before leaving the café, Alec asks for an extra pastry box when he picks up tiramisu for Magnus. He gives the tiramisu to Magnus that same evening. The box he hangs on to until he has the ring.

Two weeks later, he leaves the pastry box on the kitchen counter and waits. When Magnus spots it, he smiles at Alec and makes a b-line for it. 

Alec watches as Magnus opens the box, expecting a pastry or perhaps slice of cake. Magnus' eyes go wide the moment he realizes that what's really inside is a ring cradled in a silk scarf.

"Is this what I think it is?" Magnus asks.

A ring isn't necessary for their kind of union, but Magnus has always liked them and Izzy helped him find one that feels special enough to be an engagement ring. It's silver and the stones embedded in the band were carefully carved with magic to look and act like small glittering stars. Alec picks up the ring from inside the box and then drops to one knee in front of Magnus, holding the ring up in offering. "Magnus Bane, will you marry me?"

Magnus swallows, his eyes a little glassy, and then he surprises Alec when he drops to his knees in front of him and pulls him into a kiss. Alec laughs happily against Magnus' mouth, and when they pull apart, Alec slips the ring onto Magnus' finger.

Magnus' grin is bright when he replies, "Yes, Alexander. Of course."

*

Alec keeps getting Magnus gifts long after they're married and Magnus tells him that he's never be given so much in his life. Alec knows he means more than the small material gifts, but he also knows that Magnus cherishes each and every one of the small material things Alec has given him. 

Though he never says anything to Alec, Alec is aware that Magnus treasures the omamori most of all. Years later, he continues to find the omamori on Magnus' person -- he feels it sometimes when he's running his hands down Magnus' body and he still discovers it tucked into his pockets. 

Truth be told, Alec loves the omamori too. It reminds him of all the ways his gifts have made Magnus happier, and of how making Magnus happier has made him happier too. Alec thinks that's a good thing for them both. After all, they have a long life together ahead of them and Alec plans to fill it with as many gifts as he can.


End file.
